He spent years reconciling his identity. Now he’s the first Arab bishop in Episcopal history.

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BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (RNS) — When Adam J. Shoemaker became the first bishop of Arab and North African descent in the Episcopal Church’s 237-year history this past weekend, many of his colleagues saw it as a glass-ceiling smashing.

Donning vestments with a Turkish blue tulip and North African pattern, Shoemaker greeted families, clergy and laypeople alike after his ordination and consecration as the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island on Saturday (Sept. 19). Nearly 2,000 people attended the ceremony at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, New York. The line to meet him stretched for more than 90 minutes.

“He embodies what it means to be the church in the world, and in particular, in New York City and the suburbs,” said the Rev. Lindsay Lunnum, rector of Zion Episcopal Church in Queens, which is part of Shoemaker’s diocese alongside Brooklyn.

Shoemaker, 47, told RNS he sees himself as an “imperfect vessel” for serving the church. But his background is almost tailor-made for leading one of the Episcopal Church’s most ethnically diverse dioceses: he was…